South Dakota Governor

Employer / Organization

Next Election

Nov 08, 2022

Filing Window

Jan 01, 2022 - Apr 26, 2022

Description

The Governor of the State of South Dakota is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in South Dakota. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms. The governor serves as a spokesman for the state, oversees the executive branch, appoints the members of his cabinet, is the commander-in-chief of the South Dakota National Guard, and may grant pardons to those convicted of criminal offenses under state law, except in cases of treason and impeachment. He is also actively involved in the legislative process. He may introduce legislation and has the power to veto bills passed by the legislature. Other duties and privileges of the office include: Commissioning all offices of the state; Requiring written information from any state officer on any aspect of her office and duties; Addressing the General Assembly at the beginning of each regular session and at other times she deems necessary on the state of the state and making recommendations for legislation; Convening special sessions of the legislature or of either chamber alone; Making changes in the organization of "offices, boards, commissions, agencies and instrumentalities, and in allocation of their functions, powers and duties, as he considers necessary for efficient administration"; Acting as supervisor of each principle department in the executive branch and appointing the executive to each department; Appointing all offices not otherwise provided for, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and making interim appointments when the Senate is in recess. The salary for this position is $104,002/year.

Application Guidelines

To file for this position follow these three steps: 1) Contact the South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division to confirm that your registered address qualifies you for the position you intend to run for, and that you meet other office specific qualifications. Obtain the correct candidacy filing paperwork. 2) Complete the required candidacy paperwork including the appropriate campaign finance forms and (if you plan to run as an independent) a nominating petition. Nominating petition instructions can be found here: https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/assets/HowtoCirculateNomPetitionStateLegCountyCandidates.pdf. If you plan to run as a partisan candidate please contact your local party office for further instructions. 3) Submit the nominating petitions with the stipulated amount of signatures to the South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division by the filing deadline. The amount of required nominating petition signatures varies by office. The filing window for independents runs from the 1st of January until the last Tuesday of April at 5pm. The South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division is the point of contact for any questions or concerns you may have. The South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division can be reached at (605) 773-3537 and the Election Services Division website can be found here: https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/nominating-petitions/qualifications-office-term-limits.aspx.